Buying (or lucking into) two Mk II attack drones.If you're flying any of the three Rock Cruisers or have the Rock Plating augment, you get an option called ' Ram the bastards.' Doing this will disable the Mantis ship's engines permanently, allowing you to get guaranteed hits, in a very rare opportunity to preemptively disable an enemy's systems instead of the other way around. You may encounter a Mantis Cruiser lined with Rock body parts.Even better: Throw in a Chain Vulcan for maximum dakka.Also note that the reloader can stack and is quite cheap. Automated Loader + lots of burst lasers + upgraded weapon crew member = fun for the whole family.Especially if you have an upgraded weapon crew member which you will very quickly. Similar hilarity comes from using two Ion Blast II's and literally paralyzing enemy ships, leaving them unable to raise shields or fire weapons as you tear them apart with drones.Sending more than one Boarding Drone is also hilarious: punching holes in the enemy hull and watching your killer robots rampage through the enemy ship is awesome.Even the mighty Rebel Flagship itself stands little chance aside from the occasional lucky shot in-between cloak cooldowns. Masterful use in the DA SR-12 results in this, if you find a Pre-Ignitor alongside a Flak II (if you have Advanced Edition turned on of course).Having the appropriate weapons for the Giant Spiders: Gliding up to the airlock and letting an anti-personnel drone to quickly kill the creatures, or the more awesome (if less rewarded) option of slamming a boarding drone through the station's hull before it starts tearing the spiders apart, or the surgical option of using a bio-beam to pick them off one by one.Even the game notes that the colony leaders are astonished. When you encounter the plague-infested station, if you have an advanced medbay and the Engi Med-Bot Dispersal augment, you can cure the entire station in less than a minute.Destroying it and the Flagship in the final fight means you not only ensure a Federation victory, but destroy the Rebel's come-back flagship as well. Hell, just the idea of defeating it implies a great victory.Its destruction animation is as long as that of the fully-constructed Flagship, you gain massive rewards, the Rebel Fleet gets delayed for two jumps, and if this is your first time destroying it, you unlock the Federation Cruiser! A smaller but similar one can happen if you destroy the under-construction Flagship in the Rebel Stronghold.and they weren't even close from defeating you. Beating the Flagship without taking a single hit is even more satisfying.You still win if you die as the flagship blows up too.For an extra touch, reduce the flagship's crew down to one, then finish off the last crew member and the ship at the same time.

Ftl anti bio beam